Carol, the stub of the big tree that it once was is getting pretty rotten. I was surpised when it put out blooms and set fruit this year. It is a Montmorency and we have a young one that we planted in the fall of 09 in anticipation of losing this one and it bloomed this year and has some fruit on it. Then right next to this old one I planted a sweet cherry in 09 because there is a Stella sweet cherry in the next row. Which is the long story of why we will cut it down. We got an extra 3 years of fruit from it. We put up 12 qts of cherries each year, enough for one pie a month. (Of course when it was 30 ft tall we put up much much more than that.

"I'll never be like that because I can stop anytime I want". They always say the first sign of addiction is denial. I remember when a friend whose garden was growing in size said the same thing. A few years later when I still had some control myself I reminded them of what they said. And was told to read her lips. And she said I said anytime I want and I don't want too. That is my boat now. My family and even friends wonder why I spend so much time gardening but also appreciate the produce they get. Of course this year my sister is beginning to wonder when the tomatoes will start coming. Another sign is when you can't wait to check the mailbox to see if a new catalog has arrived. But when someone says something about you receiving so many you say I can't figure out how I got on all of those lists. But just let them throw away one of the 20 plus and you'll notice it before you turn in to sleep. And the seed companies are like the people selling Christmas goodies. Start earlier every year. Now we can blame them for keeping our addiction growing. And then when they why weren't you at the wedding you were invited too and you say oh I didn't feel like going. When the truth is you wanted to take advantage of the nice fall day and spend it in the garden. And then when they say you were seen in the garden you reply I just went out to check on it and time got away. It is nice to be around a bunch of fellow addicts. Because we all need company and a non addict can never understand. Jay

Would you mind going over this again -- with some more facts? DS & DIL own a house with market value (according to realtors) of $400K - $430K. They owe $160K on a 15-year mortgage at a rate of 5.375%. They are looking for a new (existing, just new to them)home in an area where median is $400K. They can afford a $150K mortgage on a single salary. One will finish school in the health tech field in 18 mos. They would put their current home on the market in January. They are *looking* at what's available in the new location. They have $60K freshly out of CDs that's earning zilch. There is no penalty to pay down their existing mortage. Taking $60K off the mortage balance would save them $268 per month; they'd NOT be paying 5.375% on that $60K. Why wouldn't they want to save 5.375% per month for however long their existing house doesn't sell and before they buy? It's beginning to sound better to me. There's no pay-down penalty; they aren't and wouldn't be upside down in the current house; the $60K is going to go into the new property anyway. They have some other reserves. Am I missing something?

Hi Rob, Not much to add ... and hope that you're back at least part way out of your blue funk. Brother, retired farmer who lives 1600 miles way, has one son, only child, in a city 100 miles from here, a couple of small grand-daughters from son's second marriage, and comes to visit them a couple of times a year. He'd called to say he was to be in the neighbourhood, and we got together on Friday, I called son and he and his partner were there for lunch, as was brother and wife ... and a couple of favourite cousins were, as well. Brother spent a few years when he was very young with the family of our Mom's brother and their two children when she was ill, so he considers one as almost a sister: the son, a local farmer, died several years ago. The other cousin lives locally and I see her at church fairly often - she, who had voice training, has sung in the choir for 75 years. The brother and I went to deal with some complications over inheritance of cemetery plots that Dad owned ... and it looks as though resolution is to be easier than we figured. Then we sat and had a chat ... and he's rather worried about future viability of his son's marriage. We don't see one another often, but we've been close, over the years. Our brother died over forty years ago, when his kids were in their teens, and our ready-made sister that came with our stepmom lives near brother in Saskatchewan. It's a red letter day when we get together. ole joyful